Did you get ill more often after your child started nursery?

[Summersglow]

Hi, just curious...
Since your child started nursery, did you also get more sick yourself?
My child started nursery last autumn and since then I have never been so ill in my life. My child has had many different viruses/trips to docs/hosp and has thankfully recovered each time. I suppose I expected nursery related bugs as I was warned about this.
I feel like my immune system is also taking a battering. In recent months I've had tonsillitis for the first time/viral this and that/kidney infection for the first time and now no voice and pharyngitis for the first time, which is truly awful!
When does it get better?

Not really answering your question directly but years ago (different career), I worked with parents, babies and young children in a family contact centre. The most horrendously upsetting job I will ever know - but that's another story!

That first year, I was constantly ill with virus after virus. Apparently this is 'normal'. Children's immune systems are still developing (and it's good that they are having a immune system response) and you have all the general viruses that circulate too. Mix that in with a group of people that don't usually associate and it's a perfect breeding environment for bugs.

It does get better though! In my instance, after a year I felt as though I'd gained extra immunity. I'm rarely ill now.

Thank you for replying and sorry you had an upsetting experience in that role.
I am constantly ill at the mo and it is so exhausting! My child and myself tend to be ill together and it's a nuisance but hoping it resolves in time!

Yeah your kid will bring all the viruses home. Youre probably stressed with balancing work and young kids, lack of sleep and it's almost inevitable you will be ill often. Once they are older it does get better though.

Yes this is very common, it's a nightmare. Hard to say how long as personal immunity and personal virus response makes a big difference.

You could ask for bloods just to check there's no underlying vitamin deficiency or something, and then all you can do is try to rest and stay healthy.

Basic things like hand washing and keeping windows open can help a bit.

Yes, It’s unavoidable as the little darlings don’t follow hand hygiene rules and will graciously share every vomit bug with you!

Yes OP. The year I went back to work after having my twins I have never been so ill before or since. They were only in nursery 2 days a week. They’d get a mild sniffle and I’d get a virus so bad I actually thought I was dying a couple of times. Both times the viruses lasted about 24 hours. It was so weird.

They’re now 16 and I’ve had proper flu once since then and a few colds but nothing like those weird viruses. Not including Covid.

No not really. But then again my kid was never particularly ill lots which I know is a bit of an anomaly. Maybe you’re just weak immune system wise

Yes

Really helpful response 🙄

Yes, same in our household. And even to an extent when DC2 started at the same nursery as well. In my case I wonder if it was partly because I was back at work too, so more stress and less sleep than on mat leave.

Yes. Happens as a teacher - I’d go through some years constantly ill. but was worse when I had kids. I was late diagnosed with asthma after them which started to leave me needing anti biotics at least once a year due to infections.

I do seemed to have improved immunity considerably since regular exercise (resistance training and some aerobics) and increasing protein to help with that. I also prioritise gut biome stuff. All this was to help with dealing with cancer and menopausal side effects from treatment but the bonus seems to have been barely ever getting ill now. Which is a total u turn to pre cancer. My asthma is better than it was too.

Yes. It was awful with my first DC and then my second was post covid and started nursery in the autumn. OMG. Felt like I was hanging on by a thread that whole winter. Scarlett fever, chicken pox, hand foot and mouth, flu, strep, tonsillitis, Covid, croup, D&V plus the milder colds and coughs.

Get the chicken pox vaccine and make that one less miserable thing on your list!

Yes I’m afraid this is absolutely what happens: colds, vomiting viruses etc. They pick up everything and pass it onto you through close contact. On the positive side their immune system gets a real boost, and maybe the adult one gets a kick-start! It DOES get better I promise but it is very rough when you’re going through it.

Yeah, very normal. Didn’t happen nowhere near as much with child number 2. Child number one was hell.

Yes - it felt like we were all sick with something or other for years and years. In reality it was probs only about a year.

Yes my eldest started nursery in October 2021 so it was peak cold season, and for the first six months to a year I think we were permanently ill. But it definitely wasn’t as bad the following year. Now we are rarely ill. My youngest definitely got ill a lot when she started in June 2025 but I don’t think I got ill nearly as much as when my eldest started (perhaps I’ve built up immunity). I don’t think Covid times helped with my eldest either as we had all been used to isolating prior to that.

I hear about this a lot but it never happened to us.

They’ve rarely had a day off due to illness, and we aren’t more ill as a household.

Yes. I missed every major family event for about three years. Weddings, funerals, significant birthdays: it was hellish.
Not every bug gives you immunity norovirus keeps evolving so you get it again and again. For those of us who have asthma catching a cold can trigger another lengthy period of breathing difficulties.
Wash your hands, kids.

Yes, it was horrible. The first two winters we were all basically ill all the time, and got so run down. Summer was a bit of a respite but still got ill regularly - I remember having a really nasty flu-y virus during a heatwave.

The first two years were definitely the worst, it calmed down after that.

Yes, I was like Typhoid Mary for at least 2-3 years.

Thankfully, once they started school it got much better and it must have strengthened my immune system to bodybuilder levels because I never get sick now, like, not even a cold.

Typhoid Mary was asymptomatic though. I spent the first year of dd's nursery with an almost constant fever. I hadn't remembered having a fever before then!

And then COVID hit and everyone said how awful COVID was but it was a walk in the park compared to to the barrage we got that first year.

So much so that we decided to never have another child. DH got the snip.

It was horrific, pushed both of our careers to the brink, caused a lot of last minute stress, lost deposits, cancelled trips and general chaos.

We obviously still love being parents to DD but we never want to go through that phase of life revolving around endless illness, A&E trips, no sleep, panic, stress and still expected to show up to work and function normally everywhere else. Not to mention being surrounded by other sick kids in every public location or hotel and families who happily send their sick children into school to infect everyone else. Fuck that.

Yes, really common and nobody talks about it enough. For us it lasted about six months, with the first 3 being absolutely awful. I suspect there's a seasonal component to it with winter colds and less ventilation.

Oooh yes. My boy started in September last year and I think I was ill with something or another solidly between November and about March. Sickness bug, two rounds of pink eye, legit flu, adenovirus over Christmas, and viral tonsillitis. It suuuucks but by June it all dried up and we've been sniffle free for... weeks!

Yes! It’s always been this way though has increased a lot in recent years (for children and staff). One factor is covid. Along with its own range of symptoms and symptom severity, it can trigger/exacerbate new/existing health conditions and increases propensity to other infections.

Nurseries with better ventilation and more indoor to outdoor freeflow tend to fare better.

Nurseries with Hepa filters have a 30% reduced absence rate (so actual unwell time even at nursery is also reduced as children often attend when unwell. Parents/teachers also then have more well days even if work when ill). Some nurseries use them as a cost saving measure (reduce staff sickness too). Other nurseries accept donated ones from parents. I bookmarked a thread on this ages ago, will have a quick search and see if I can find.

There is also some confusion about the types of germs that help build immunity and this sometimes gets lumped in with it somehow being a good thing for children to be fighting off so many viruses at any one time (and parents, siblings, teachers).

Has the chickenpox vaccine been rolled out yet? That’s one illness that can be avoided.

Some viruses are labelled as winter despite surges all year round - norovirus, covid etc.